Steelers: It's Bettis, Beep, Beep

PITTSBURGH — After flattening the Colts on Sunday, Jerome Bettis slipped on a hat with ``The Bus'' embroidered on the front before facing the television cameras.

``I got the nickname at Notre Dame,'' said Bettis, the Steelers' 243-pound running back. ``The student body gave it to me. They'd chant `Take the bus' and `Nobody stops the bus.' It was forgotten for a while, but it resurfaced again here because there's a big Notre Dame following in Pennsylvania.''

Evidently, the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, for whom he rumbled the first three years of his pro career, did not know how to use -- or market -- Bettis. The Battering Ram? Please. So they did everyone except themselves a favor by trading Bettis to Pittsburgh in April for second- and fourth-round draft picks.

After the attitude and legal problems with Barry Foster and Bam Morris, the Steelers got a runner who won't drive them crazy. Bettis rushed for 1,432 yards in the regular season, and carried 25 times for 102 yards and two TDs in his first playoff game, a 42-14 victory over the Colts.

The Steelers play the Patriots in the AFC divisional playoffs Sunday in Foxboro, Mass. Bettis, still limping on a sore right ankle he injured a month ago, probably won't practice this week but will likely play Sunday.

``This is especially special,'' Bettis said, ``in light of the situation I came from. People said I was finished, I wasn't the same back anymore, I was a one-year wonder. I knew I still had the ability, and this team knew I could get the job done, and they've entrusted me to do it.''

Bettis was the rookie of the year in 1993 with 1,429 yards in coach ``Ground'' Chuck Knox's offense. Knox was replaced by Rich Brooks in 1995, and Bettis held out of training camp, getting off to a bad start. Bettis gained 637 yards last season as the Rams played more of a passing game. Bettis was on the market the morning of the draft.

After losing quarterback Neil O'Donnell as a free agent three months after losing Super Bowl XXX to the Cowboys, the Steelers chose a different route, building a stable running game around Bettis.

``A player like [Bettis] normally wouldn't be available,'' Patriots coach Bill Parcells said. ``If I had him, he wouldn't be available. For some reason he was available, so they were able to trade for him. That filled a pressing need for them. They had a little bad luck with [Bam] Morris or maybe they wouldn't have made that trade. It's just one of those things that happen -- it fit well for them and it fit well for him.''

Parcellsoften says the running game is the most reliable mode of playoff transportation. In 1991, he used a similar back, Ottis Anderson, to help win a Super Bowl championship with the Giants.

More championship teams have featured the power running game -- for instance, the Packers with Jim Taylor, the Dolphins with Larry Csonka, the Steelers with Franco Harris, the Redskins with John Riggins -- than the establish-the-pass style the Patriots depend on to take advantage of their talented quarterback, Drew Bledsoe.

The Steelers use plenty of gimmicks, rotating quarterbacks Mike Tomczak and Kordell Stewart. But they have been most impressive when taking The Bus. Bettis stops frequently, allowing defenders to hop on or fall off. He is in no hurry to reach the end zone.

``He gets through the line, he just runs over people,'' Steelers offensive lineman Brendan Stai said. ``And he has great vision. As a lineman, you can't hold your block forever, but if you can hold your guy up a little and he tries to arm tackle him, forget it. For people to say he was washed up, that's just ridiculous. He's run his way into the Pro Bowl.''

The Steelers, trailing 14-13 against the Colts, started the second half with a 16-play, 91-yard drive, consuming 9 minutes, 30 seconds. Bettis had nine carries in the drive, scoring on a 1-yard run. Later, The Steelers got the ball on a turnover at the Colts 18 and again took their sweet time -- six plays -- before Bettis, playing through ankle and groin injuries, scored again.

When Bettis makes a ``long'' run, such as the 18-yarder in the second-half opening drive, he pops up quick and does a little run-in-place dance. Picture a bus doing a wheelie.

``I got pretty jacked up,'' he said.

If the blue-collar Pittsburgh crowd has its way, this will be the last Bus stop. But it may be just a one-year riding pass. Once Bettis reached 1,200 yards, it activated an escape clause, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Bettis' price will be high, and with Pro Bowl linebacker Chad Brown also among their unsigned, the Steelers will have some hard choices.

But for now, it's a matter of going with Bettis to the end of the line, and hoping there's no breakdown in New England.

``Our offense was on the field 13 minutes of the third quarter [against the Colts],'' Steelers safety Carnell Lake said. ``That was impressive. It gave our defense a lot of time to rest. To win in the playoffs, you have to have a running game. We're fortunate enough to have a back like Jerome and a line that can do it.''